Portable floors, consisting of a number of interlocking sections, are used for providing a temporary hard surface floor which may be set up over carpeting or other surfaces on a temporary basis by joining a number of floor sections together in edge-to-edge relationship. Locking or connecting means are provided along the edges to secure adjacent sections together during use. For storage, the locking means are released or otherwise disconnected so that the sections can be disassembled for storage. One feature of the present invention is the provision of an improved locking means for connection of such sections. While the locking means of this invention is applicable to edge-to-edge joining of interlocking panels or sections for a wide variety of purposes, since the presently preferred embodiment of the invention is in connection with portable floors, the specification and drawings in this patent application are directed to that particular use.
Portable floors are used, for example, in the hospitality and entertainment industries when it is desired to temporarily provide a smooth hard surface for dancing or other activities. Portable floors may be set up over carpeted floor or other surfaces by connecting together in edge-to-edge fashion a plurality of floor sections. The sections are releasably locked together along their edges to produce an extended floor area of the desired size. A portable floor of this general type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,310,919, assigned to the assignee of the present invention. In that patent, floor panels are provided, each having a metallic tongue section along certain edges and a metallic groove section along certain other edge, such that adjoining sections can be fitted together in edge-to-edge relationship by tongue-and-groove arrangement, and held in place by locking screws threaded through to engage notches in the tongue members While the portable floor disclosed in that patent has been successful in providing a convenient and efficient portable floor, the present invention provides an improved interlock system and construction which are believed to be advantageous.
It would be desirable to have an interlock system for floor sections that automatically locked or snapped into engagement whenever the corresponding edges were pushed into contact, without having to require an operator to perform an additional task such as tightening down a set screw. However, in order to be acceptable for a dance floor section application, an interlocking means must meet a number of rather stringent criteria. The locks must reliably and positively engage when sections are pushed together, so that there will be no possibility of sections which "look" locked but which in fact are not. the locking means must operate reliably under adverse conditions, including operating for year after year despite the probability that dust, dirt and other debris will work itself into the lock, and despite predictable rough handling and even abuse during the operations of setting up and taking down the floor. With regard to rough handling, if a workman were to try to lift up one section while it is still latched to a number of others, a situation which is not recommended but which would probably occur from time to time, the interconnecting means would be subject to tremendous bending or twisting forces, given the magnitude of the forces applied through considerable leverage. These factors of required reliability in the face of a difficult operating environment have ruled out known practical latch-type mechanisms.